The launch from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, marks the beginning of a series of two missions aimed at measuring Earth's energy loss in the polar regions using advanced far-infrared technology. PREFIRE will deploy two CubeSats on separate Rocket Lab Electron rockets to capture data in unprecedented detail.
The primary objective of PREFIRE is to address significant gaps in our understanding of how polar regions, particularly the Arctic and Antarctic, regulate Earth's temperature. These regions act as a thermostat by releasing heat absorbed from the tropics into space. This process is vital for climate balance but remains undermeasured, especially in the Arctic where 60% of the energy spectrum escaping to space has not been systematically documented.
By obtaining detailed measurements from space, PREFIRE seeks to clarify the specific contributions of polar regions to Earth's heat balance and investigate the rapid warming of the Arctic, which is occurring at over twice the rate of the global average. This information is critical for understanding the complex mechanisms of polar ice loss, as well as broader environmental challenges such as sea level rise and sea ice deterioration.
The CubeSats, built by Blue Canyon Technologies and equipped with spectrometers provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will operate in asynchronous, near-polar orbits. Data processing will be conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The mission, managed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate, will have its second CubeSat, named "PREFIRE and Ice," launched several weeks following the initial mission. Both launches are part of NASA's VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract, facilitated through the agency's Launch Services Program.
Updates on the launch can be followed on NASA's Small Satellite Missions blog.
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